Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Symptoms and Signs

April 19, 2024 
This page was reviewed under our medical and editorial policy by Guido Marcucci, M.D., Chair, Department of Hematologic Malignancies Translational Science, City of Hope Duarte

People with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) may experience a number of signs and symptoms, although not all CML patients will notice them right away because the cancer is slow-growing. CML signs and symptoms tend to be mild at the start and worsen over time. Some may even be mistaken for something else.

CML Symptoms

As leukemia cells replace normal cells, patients with CML may experience symptoms. Common symptoms of CML may include those listed below.

Fever and night sweats: The lowered levels of healthy, infection-fighting white blood cells may cause fevers and night sweats from infections.

Weakness and fatigue: In CML, abnormal, immature white blood cells crowd out healthy red blood cells, causing anemia, which may lead to feelings of exhaustion and weakness. These symptoms may also be caused by infections.

Bone pain: When leukemia cells spread from the marrow to the bone’s surface or surrounding joints, it may trigger pain in the bones.

Enlarged spleen: CML is marked by the overproduction of abnormal white blood cells. The spleen stores these blood cells, so CML may cause the organ to become enlarged.

Fullness or abdominal pain: As the spleen enlarges, it may push on other abdominal organs, which may trigger pain or a sense of feeling full.

Loss of appetite: CML patients may lose interest in eating, either from abdominal pain and fullness associated with an enlarged spleen, or because of infections.

Weight loss: Loss of appetite, abdominal pain, infections and feeling weak or tired may all lead to weight loss in CML patients.

Signs of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

While symptoms of a condition like CML are experienced by the patient, signs are observed and diagnosed by a doctor or other health care professional.

The signs listed below may be measured during blood testing, and may eventually result in symptoms.

Leukopenia: This is a shortage of healthy white blood cells. The abnormal white cells of CML do not protect against infection.

Anemia: A shortage of red blood cells may result in fatigue, shortness of breath and weakness.

Neutropenia: This is a shortage of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that helps fight bacterial infections.

Thrombocytopenia: A shortage of blood-clotting platelets may lead to excessive bleeding and bruising, including nosebleeds and bleeding gums.

Thrombocytosis: Some patients have too many abnormal, blood-clotting platelets that don’t function correctly. This may also lead to bleeding and bruising.

It’s important to remember that the signs and symptoms of CML don’t always show up right away, and the condition is often diagnosed when a doctor orders routine blood testing to check for other health conditions.